


All grown up

by taralynden



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Coming of Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-17
Updated: 2012-02-17
Packaged: 2017-10-31 08:44:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/342140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taralynden/pseuds/taralynden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A seeker trine after the final upgrades into their adult frames. Adult they may be, but mature? Remains to be seen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All grown up

Starscream leaned casually against the wall, well aware that he stood out strikingly against the muted colours of the building's surface and was drawing attention to himself. It was nice to see mecha taking a second look, a lot of those looks admiring. And to think that this morning he had been in a plain, standard sparkling frame. He truly was special.

All of the adult-frame upgrades were essentially the same, but the natural nanite colouration was determined by a mech's spark: it was difficult to predict and even more difficult to change. His trinemates had been reasonably fortunate; Skywarp's dominant black was unusual but could have done with silver or gold highlights rather than plain mauve, and Thundercracker's mid-blue and red was simply dull, but neither were actually ugly. By contrast, his bright red, blue and white were remarkable. Prime colours, several of the tutors had muttered in his hearing. Not that he needed to be told.

Before the upgrades they had all been lectured on the common results. Aerial types often tended to mauves and ground-bound types tended to reds. Greens occurred in both, but the latter had the darker variants, while the opposite was true of blues. Orange was a common ground-bound variant, while silver was common for fliers.

The colours had no real purpose, the tutors had insisted. They helped distinguish one mech from another visually, and that was all. But it was true that the rare combination of white, red and azure blue was almost exclusively natural to those who would either be the Prime or who would closely serve him.

What was his destiny, Starscream wondered, running a considering hand over the edge of one of his new broad wings. To serve the Prime? To be a Prime's consort, perhaps? Or to actually be Prime himself?

"Look at him preening." a familiar voice distracted him. "Like he wasn't arrogant enough before."

"At least _you_ don't clash with him."

Starscream turned lazily to look at his trinemates.

"Took you long enough to get here. Where have you been?"

"Getting our specialisation upgrades." Thundercracker reminded him. "The ones you turned down, remember?"

Starscream twitched. The offer was only made after the frame upgrade and only to a tiny proportion of new adults. He had told his trinemates had turned the offer down because only the weak needed the extra help and he was already perfect anyway, but in fact he had never been given the option. They had actually refused when he demanded to be given them.

"Of course I did. You can't improve on what I already am. Besides, those things always turn glitchy."

He paused, burning with curiosity but not wanting to appear too eager. Thankfully Skywarp could always be counted on to be impatient.

"Well _I'm_ not glitchy and neither's TC. Wanna see?"

"Warp, wait, they said...!" Thundercracker began in alarm.

Too late. Before Starscream's disbelieving optics Skywarp's form flickered like a bad hologram then vanished entirely. Startled he began to ask a question when someone tapped him on the shoulder, making him squawk in startlement and jump away. Spinning about he found Skywarp doubled up with laughter.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

"Y-you... your... you _squealed_!" his trinemate choked.

"Did not!" Starscream retorted indignantly.

"He can skip between place." Thundercracker explained. "But the instructors said it was dangerous for him to use it until he had had training."

"And you? You can do it too?"

How was he supposed to lead... to even keep up with... a trine like that? Slag the stupid officials for denying him the upgrades.

"No." Thundercracker responded, oblivious to his fuming. "I can make a sonic boom. Enough to disrupt enemy systems if we're ever in combat. Which doesn't seem likely - I don't know why they bothered."

"Did they say what they would've given you if you hadn't refused?" Skywarp asked, recovering from his giggles.

"Of course they didn't." Thundercracker retorted. "They didn't tell _us_ , remember?"

"Yeah, but we didn't say no. Hey, I bet it was going to be something to make him less grumpy."

"Glitch." Starscream growled, flicking his wings in reflexive annoyance and then finding himself completely distracted.

How wonderful it was to have full-sized wings. To have the energy reserves to really fly, not just glide. To have the processing power to handle the extra data. Already, just standing here, he had been enthralled by the data pouring in from the sensors on his new frame. The new programming filtered and categorised it, new algorithms whispering enticingly about optimum vectors and preferential angles.

He wanted to _fly_. Needed to fly. Their training sessions to date had been disappointing, limited by their inadequate sparkling frames. But now things should be different.

So what if his trinemates got additional upgrades? He would still be the best flier Vos had ever produced, he felt it in his spark. And with his exceptional aerial prowess he would be invited to be part of Prime's honourguard. Or perhaps catch his optic with his grace. Or perhaps...

"Starscream, are you ready? There's no need to be nervous, you'll be fine."

He glared at the tutor who had approached while he was distracted.

"I am not nervous." he said frostily, stalking past him to the edge of the landing.

Transforming into his new tetrajet altmode, he paused. It was a long way down, far enough for the tutor to follow and catch him if his engines stalled. But he would not stall. Firing up his thrusters he pushed out into the emptiness... and felt his own wings support him. And at that moment he fell in love. Whatever else happened, he would always have this, and this was everything.

Flight was life.

* * *

Skywarp helped Thundercracker carry their offline trinemate back to their quarters, not even bothering to grumble since Starscream would not hear it. Their trine leader had flown as though he had been doing it for centuries while he and Thundercracker lumbered clumsily along behind him, trying to keep up. They had grown tired of the effort after awhile but Starscream had kept going until he had literally exhausted himself. Not that it had been boring, watching him. Flying was great, but somehow it was so much more intense for Starscream. The joy he had felt had been palpable through the fledging trinebond and still awed Skywarp even now.

And that joy had been matched with incredible instinctive skill. Starscream had always been confident on the ground where many fliers were naturally clumsy, but in the air he was exquisately graceful.

That, plus his unique colouration, left Skywarp wondering. There had never been a Seeker with that colouring. Had never been a Seeker consort. Had never been a Seeker Prime. Was Starscream to be the first? And what would that mean for their trinebond?

"He won't abandon us." Thundercracker reassured him, sensing the anxiety and guessing its cause. "We fit together."

"He'll want us to keep up, though. Or else..."

"We'll practice."

"We'll never be as good. Never. Did you _see_ him?"

"We'll be good enough because we have to be." Thundercracker insisted, settling Starscream onto his berth and looking down at him fondly.

"Do you think this is why they didn't let him have the upgrades?" Skywarp persisted. "Because they knew he wouldn't need them? Because we _would_ , to keep up with him?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"Yeah. I guess so. TC?"

"What?"

"Why did he lie to us? We _heard_ him arguing with them - we know he didn't have a choice."

"You know Star, Warp. Image is everything."

"I guess. He should know we don't care, though. Hey, TC? You know what would be really funny?"

"I know that look on your face usually gets someone in trouble."

"We could repaint him. What do you think - amber and khaki? With brown detailing?"

"He'll kill us." Thundercracker replied, but he was now grinning too.

Skywarp shrugged.

"Only a little. Come on, I know where the paints are."

"So do I, but it's locked up."

"Yeah, but _I_ don't need a key anymore..."

* * *

Two joors later, the training barracks rang with indignant screaming and death threats. Skywarp was grinning madly as they hid in a closet, keeping the trinelink as quiet as they could.

"He's earning his name again. Even the stars can hear him."

"Just be ready to get us out of here if he comes close. I don't know why I let you talk me into these things."

"Because they're fun?"

Thundercracker tried to look stern, failed, gave in and laughed.

"Yeah, maybe."

They were the craziest trine in their age-group, yet somehow he knew Skywarp's pranks would never go too far and Starscream's rants were partly tempered when aimed at them. Personality-wise, they were a poor fit, yet somehow it worked. And now they were adults. The fun and games of life at the Academy would give way to the realities of having to earn a living and looking after themselves. His trinemates did not worry about that the way he did, Warp's naivete and Starscream's arrogance convincing them both that they would be fine. Well, between the three of them they probably would be.

So long as Starscream didn't take this latest prank _too_ seriously.


End file.
